Timothy Mellon identified donor to pay US troops during shutdown: report

The nameless donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay troops throughout the federal government shutdown has been recognized as Timothy Mellon, a reclusive billionaire and a serious backer of President Donald Trump, in line with a report.

Trump introduced the donation Thursday however declined to disclose the donor’s identification, describing him solely as a “patriot” and a good friend. The president once more declined to call the individual Friday whereas talking to reporters aboard Air Power One shortly after departing Washington for Asia, calling the donor “an incredible American citizen” and a “substantial man.”

“He would not need publicity,” Trump mentioned on Friday. “He prefers to not have his title talked about, which is sort of uncommon on the planet I come from, and on the planet of politics you need your title talked about.”

However the two individuals conversant in the case advised The New York Instances that the person is Mellon, a rich financial institution inheritor and railroad magnate.

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The nameless donor who gave $130 million to the Pentagon to pay troops throughout the federal government shutdown has been recognized as Timothy Mellon. (Scott Olson/Getty Photographs)

It stays unclear how lengthy the donation will cowl troops’ salaries. In response to the Congressional Funds Workplace, the Trump administration’s 2025 funds referred to as for about $600 billion in whole navy compensation.

He mentioned the $130 million donation would equate to about $100 per service member The New York Times.

Mellon, a grandson of former Treasury Secretary Andrew W. Mellon, is a Trump financier who donated tens of tens of millions of {dollars} to teams backing the president’s 2024 marketing campaign. Final 12 months, he donated $50 million to an excellent PAC supporting Trump, making it one of many largest single contributions ever disclosed, the newspaper mentioned.

President Donald Trump declined to disclose the donor’s identification. (Scott Olson/Getty Photographs)

The billionaire was not a distinguished Republican donor till Trump was first elected, however has poured a whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars} into supporting the president and the Republican Occasion in recent times.

He’s additionally a powerful supporter of Well being and Human Providers Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who additionally ran for president in 2024, first as a Democrat and later as an unbiased earlier than withdrawing to help Trump. Mellon has donated tens of millions to Kennedy’s presidential marketing campaign and has additionally given cash to the secretary’s anti-vaccine nonprofit, Youngsters’s Well being Protection, in line with The New York Instances.

Regardless of his political contributions, Mellon has tried to maintain a low profile.

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The Pentagon mentioned it accepted the donation beneath its “basic present acceptance authority.” (Reuters)

In an autobiography revealed in 2015, Mellon described himself as a former liberal who moved from Connecticut to Wyoming for decrease taxes and fewer individuals.

The Pentagon mentioned it accepted the donation beneath its “basic present acceptance authority.”

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“The donation was made on the understanding that it will be used to offset the price of navy personnel salaries and advantages,” Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell mentioned in a press release to The New York Instances.

However the donation might be a possible violation of the Antideficiency Act, which prohibits federal companies from spending cash in extra of Congress’ appropriations or from accepting volunteer work.